AP High Court hears petition on Chintamani Natakam, asks govt. to give details of objections

The petitions filed against the ban on the Chintamani Natakam in Andhra Pradesh was heard in the High Court on Wednesday. The advocate for the petitioner argued in the High Court that it was against the rules to ban the play which had been going on for many years. He said that this play has a lot of uniqueness and the artists have become workless due to ban. Meanwhile, the government lawyer told the court that the play was banned based on the representation received by the section of people.

Considering the arguments of the two sides, the tribunal questioned the government on how the whole play could be banned if one character in the play is not good. It also questioned how can a play be banned when the novel of the play is not banned in the first place.

The High Court directed the government to put the objections on the play before the Court and asked the government to file the counter by next Tuesday. The High Court then adjourned the hearing on the petition till next Tuesday.

Chintamani drama is very famous in the rural areas of both the Telugu states, which has been running for long time. The Arya Vaishyas, however, have objections to a character in the play and demanded that the it be banned as it could hurt their feelings. Against this backdrop, the AP government decided to ban the Chintamani drama performance.